This invention relates to improvements in a display apparatus for displaying an image information within an elevator car.
A known display apparatus of the type referred to has been located within a box-shaped housing having an end open and detachably closed with a thin transparent cover and fixed at that end opposing to the open end to an upper-portion of an operating board disposed on one of two opposite lateral walls defining an entrance of an elevator car therebetween. The display apparatus is of a projection type and has comprised a projection screen applied to the inner surface of the thin transparent cover, and a plurality of projection lamps, for example, three lamps disposed at predetermined equal intervals adjacent to the end of the housing fixed to the operating board to be substantially equidistant from the projection screen. Disposed between the projection screen and each of the projection lamps have been an image printed film and a projection lens for the film. The films and the projection lenses have been positioned so that the images on all the films are selectively focussed on a common area of the projection screen by means of the associated projection lenses to be displayed to a passenger or passengers within the elevator car as different pieces of image information.
The projection lamps have been connected to a signal source disposed on a stationary part for example, in a machine room for the elevator car through respective electrical conductors included in a tail cord extending between the elevator car and the stationary part.
When the signal source fires a selected one of the projection lamps, the image on that film irradiated with the fired lamp is projected and focussed on the projection screen by means of the associated projection lens to be exhibited to a passenger or passengers within the elevator car as a piece of image information intended to be displayed to the passenger or passengers. Also by selectively firing the projection lamps, a plurality of pieces of image information or displayed contents can be selected.
However, the projection type display apparatus as described above have been disadvantageous in the following respects: A space of the operating board given by the projection screen is limited and also the projection lamps and the image printed films should be arranged in a limited space. Thus the number of the projection lamps and that of the image printed films have limited the number of different pieces of information to be displayed. Furthermore, upon a change in pieces of image information, an attendant in charge had been necessary to go to the elevator car in order to exchange the image printed film resulting in a troublesome job. Moreover since the projection screen is required to be disposed in a limited place, there has been a fear that the projection screen is out of a visual field or fields of a passenger or passengers within the elevator car.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved display apparatus for an elevator car enabled to selectively display different pieces of image information without a limitation due to the number of the pieces of image information.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved display apparatus for an elevator car in which a piece or pieces of image information to be displayed can readily be changed without a necessity of causing an attendant in charge to go to the elevator car.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved display apparatus for an elevator car difficult to be subjected to a limitation due to a visual field or fields of a passenger or passengers within the elevator car.